<p>I have one left to get through college, and was thinking I would have an empty nest in a couple of years, but this last child has decided to be a foreign exchange student in high school, and will be leaving next month for a year. I won’t know what to do with myself! Have any of you had a high school kid who became a a foreign exchange student? I imagine someone on here has had experience with that. I’m curious about other people’s experiences with this!</p>
<p>Yes. It is scary, but freeing. As long as your student is going with a reputable organization with a good on-the-ground staff it will be fine. (Rotary and AFS are two of the big ones.)</p>
<p>The first month was hard on all of us. Re-entry at the other end is also somewhat of a challenge. My kiddo had a few days of struggling to find words in English after coming home. D didn’t have a whole lot of investment in the level of drama common with many high school girls after she got back. </p>
<p>College after that? A breeze. Anybody who copes with living with host families in a different country and attending school in a completely different system gains all sorts of maturity. </p>
<p>PM me if you have questions. Good luck!
(Is your kid going to Japan? Their school year starts in March, so that’s a little weird with our schedule.)</p>
<p>When I was in HS during the Middle Ages, a good friend went to the Philippines through AFS for a year. My sister went to Argentina for a summer. It really does mature them fast.</p>
<p>One of my kids left on the day before her 16th birthday for 5 months or so in Xian, China. She turned 16 on the plane. And in those days, not long ago in actual time, internet service and even phone service to Xian was spotty and with a 13 hour time difference - and phone cards bought in Chinese markets - we made do with a call every week or so. (Even when she had to go to the hospital and was told she’d eaten too much cold on top of too much hot, as she puked her guts out.) </p>
<p>It isn’t that difficult. I even sent her a DHL package on Friday at 4PM that arrived at her school in Xian before 9AM Monday. (Tip: don’t disclose that it’s medication because that needs special clearances which you wouldn’t get.)</p>
<p>Most places are closer than the other side of the world, so the time differences are easier to manage for conversation. You can now use Viber or Whatsapp, etc. to communicate by text. And Skype or other apps to do video calls. </p>
<p>I suggest setting up a cloud drive - like Google drive - which is easily shared and accessible from wherever. Kid can take pics, upload and share access to the folder. You can view and download in full resolution they were uploaded in. It’s also a lot easier to send money these days, at least to some countries, if that’s necessary. </p>
<p>And figure out something with the phone. If it need to be unlocked by Verizon or whomever here so it can take a new sim card over there for local use on a local plan. If there’s a cheap phone rental with local minutes. If there’s cheap international calling - though you’ll probably Skype. </p>
<p>Only part of a summer here! I did find a good web site on exchange programs. It’s called <a href=“http://www.cultures-shocked.org”>www.cultures-shocked.org</a>.</p>
<p>My daughter spent six months in Argentina in her junior year. She’s our first, so it was good preparation for when she left for college. OTOH, she was the kiddo who was amazingly independent from the get-go. Ready to move out of the house when she was 6 
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<p>Wow, I actually didn’t realize that Americans went and did this in other countries, I always thought it was just foreigners who do it here. </p>
<p>She is off to Japan. Has anyone had experience with the <em>what’s app</em> app? We have Verizon and their international plans are pricey, I think. I’ll check it out agaom though, might be worth it for peace of mind. But a friend said that she and her family used the what’s app app when in Japan (works for texting) and it worked great. So, maybe that is good enough. I am so excited for her now. We still have to get her Visa. The info we need from Japan should arrive Friday. This is really happening . . . We need to buy gifts. Lots of little gifts. The Japanese are very big on gift giving.</p>